Brunswick Superintendent gives high school tour to show the building's condition

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick City Schools Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer took residents on a tour of Brunswick High School to show what condition the building is in Wednesday. Brunswick High School is a one-story building that is about a quarter-mile long. It was constructed over a span of 14 years, and separate structures were later connected. Structural problems were a main concern addressed on the tour. Water leaks from parts of the ceiling into trash cans below. The district's facilities operations manager, Bob Kelly, said fixing the leaks is labor-intensive and time-consuming because of the building's structure. Brunswick High School Principal Keith Merrill said the flooring is cracked because of water underneath the ground. The music room in the front part of the building is cracking and sinking. The west end of the school and the board of education office were built in the 1970s when fuel was more difficult to come by. Kelly said that side of the building uses electric heat, which is very expensive. Niedermeyer said replacing the existing systems in the building would be very costly. For instance, a new HVAC system would cost $18.4 million. "I would love to be able to tell you we have that in the bank," he said. "We do not." On the tour, Niedermeyer pointed out the classrooms as another point of concern. Rooms vary in size depending on the section of the building. Certain science classrooms lack gas and enough sinks to perform lab experiments, Merrill said. Unlike the middle school, the science labs have heavy furniture that is not easily moved. Noise level was another issue. Niedermeyer said rooms that house students with learning disabilities have paper-thin walls. On the other side of the building, teachers often have to run noisy dehumidifiers to help control the climate of their classroom. "I have teachers that have to make a decision," he said. "Do I want my classroom climate to be comfortable for my students, so they can work, or do I want them to be able to hear me?" The maintenance department has been working hard to keep the building operational for students, Niedermeyer said. Over the past 10 years, more than $400,000 has been spent on building repairs. "Ultimately, we are flushing money down the toilet on a building where a lot of the systems have exceeded their lifespan," he said. Merrill said a new high school would be two stories, which would help with safety and security. The classrooms would be equal in size, and the building would be more handicapped accessible than the current school. The new hallways would be wider to help ease the flow of traffic, there would be one cafeteria rather than two for efficiency, and the building would have much more. "We're preparing our kids for the 21st century skills that they need and competencies to be successful," he said. "Our building needs to be equal to that to provide them those things, so that when they head off to college, they're walking in well-prepared from a learning environment that gave them every possible opportunity that they could have gotten to be successful." A new Brunswick High School would be 285,000 square feet and be built where Towslee Elementary School currently stands. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission approved to fund more than $42 million for the project and $66.7 million would be raised locally to fund the project. The cost for taxpayers would be $7.14 per month per $100,000 in home value. Niedermeyer said the average homeowner in Brunswick and Brunswick Hills probably would pay $235.81 per year for the project. Building a new high school would cost $199.73 a year to the taxpayer while the rest would go toward improving some of the elementary schools, adding fields and courts near the high school and constructing new buildings for the board of education and maintenance department. The bond issue will be on the November ballot. Niedermeyer plans to have multiple "Java with Jason" events where he answers community questions. The first will take place 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 8 at Brunswick Middle School. "I really feel like when this project is done, we're going to be in a really good place for decades to come," he said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.